Welcome to the DC Films News and Rumors Weekly Update where we’re secretly and shamefully hoping Batman and Robin is one of the first movies available on DC Universe. This week we’ve got news and rumors about The Batman, Man of Steel, The Flash, Shazam, and even a bit of Marvel news. Shall we get started? Here is the latest update of all of the announcements and rumors that have released from June 22-28.
First up is our first look of Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva in Wonder Woman 1984. Director Patty Jenkins posted a picture of the actress in a museum on her Twitter. Aside from some clearly 80’s fashion, the picture doesn’t give us an idea of how the character will transform into Cheetah. As a Kristen Wiig fan, I have high hopes for her villainous role in the film.
John Francis Daley, one of the directors of The Flash has revealed via Twitter that if all goes well his next movie should be out by 2020. Now he doesn’t specifically say it’s going to be The Flash but we haven’t heard of any other projects the director could be working on so we can make a tiny hop to a conclusion here.
Movie Web is reporting that Mario-Francisco Robles of Revenge of the Fans recently mentioned on El Fanboy Podcast that Henry Cavill will be at SDCC this year. Apparently, DC is insisting on his presence at the convention. Could this mean they want the actor present when they announce Man of Steel 2? Nobody knows for sure, but it has been rumored in the past that Cavill is being looked at to appear in future DCEU movies either in a cameo or as a supporting player. With the DCEU being in a bit of state of flux, Man of Steel 2 can act as a tentpole release as Superman still has a built-in audience that will likely see the film.
Now for some Marvel news. Wait, what? Hear me out. Jared Leto is in final negotiations to star as Morbius, the Living Vampire in a film set in the Spider-Man universe. Similar to Venom the movie will be produced by Sony rather than Marvel Studios. The question becomes how this will impact Leto’s role as Joker in the DCEU. According to Variety, playing Morbius will not prevent his continued portrayal of Joker in the DCEU. With a rumored Harley Quinn and Joker film, Joker solo film, and a possible appearance in Suicide Squad 2, the Joker is a big part of the future of the DCEU so it’s good Leto is still onboard to portray the character. Let’s also not forget that the rumored Joker origin film with Joaquin Phoenix is also in development so no matter what we can expect much more of the Clown Prince of Crime in the future.
In Shazam! news, director David F. Sandberg posted a picture on Twitter of a man, seemingly looking like himself, yelling for SDCC to hurry up and get here. Now if this means Sandberg will be making an appearance at the convention we can hope her brings a teaser of Shazam! with him. More than any other movie in the DCEU, Shazam! is important in that it signals a huge change in tone of the DCEU. The movie is being pushed as being much lighter than the films we’ve seen before and could bring the entire universe out of the shadows. It’s a lot of pressure to put on one film, but with what we’ve learned so far, this is the movie to watch as it nears it’s 2019 release date.
Now on to our weekly rumors surrounding The Batman. First up, Batman-on-Film is reporting a rumor that production crew has begun to be hired for the film. This could mean the movie is entering pre-production as we haven’t heard anything about a script being finalized or even an official start date of production. If this rumor is true at least we know something is happening with the movie outside of continual rumors that Ben Affleck is or isn’t remaining in the role. As for where the movie fits into the DCEU, that’s where things get a bit vague. According to El Fanboy Podcast, the movie’s place inside the DCEU will depend upon the success or failures of the upcoming movies in the universe:
So essentially, they want to develop this Batman movie as if it is a reboot as if it’s all new. But they’re not gonna make any overt statements about it, they’re just gonna make a movie about a younger Batman, who – I believe it takes place in the past, which will create a backdoor for if they ever do want to cross-pollinate him with the other DC characters again. … They’re going to make Batman as his own standalone franchise, they’re gonna basically start him over again to a degree, but they’re going to leave a back door open so that, depending on how the next few DC movies do, from there, they can decide which continuity he’s a part of and whether or not they’re gonna push forward on the shared concept and do more crossover movies.
I’ve mentioned in the past that it would be a good idea for DC to create their own smaller Batman Universe within the greater DCEU which seems likely considering the push for Batgirl, Nightwing, and Birds of Prey movies in development as well as the development of movies for Harley Quinn and the Joker. There is a big enough pool of characters to choose from where a Batman Universe can splinter off and follow its own continuity. What DC and Warner Bros. need to focus on is making great movies and back off from trying to make every movie interconnect with each other. Aquaman, Wonder Woman 84, and Shazam! may all be in the same universe but they’re also telling their own stories which is the key to the success of the greater DCEU. Let fans discover the characters on their own rather than forcing team-ups at every turn.
Ok, so we took a bit of a detour at the end of this week’s roundup, but let us know your thoughts on Batman having his own shared universe within the greater DCEU. See you next week!
